Symbiosis
' |image= |series= |production=40271-123 |producer(s)= |story=Robert Lewin |script=Robert Lewin Richard Manning Hans Beimler |director=Win Phelps |imdbref=tt0708781 |guests=Judson Scott as Sobi, Merritt Butrick as T'Jon, Richard Lineback as Romas, Kimberly Farr as Langor |previous_production=Skin of Evil |next_production=We'll Always Have Paris |episode=TNG A22 |airdate=16 April 1988 |previous_release=The Arsenal of Freedom |next_release=Skin of Evil |story_date(s)= |previous_story=The Arsenal of Freedom |next_story=Skin of Evil }} =Summary= While on a scientific mission to the Delos system, the Enterprise attempts to rescue the freighter Sanction, which is trapped in a star's magnetic field. An agreement is reached to transport over the crew of the freighter, but they surprisingly send over a cargo barrel first. The Enterprise crew attempts to transport the freighter's crew, but is only successful in recovering four of them before their ship is destroyed. Two, T'Jon and Romas, are scruffy and unshaven, while the other two, Sobi and Langor, are groomed and well dressed. They all show relief that the barrel made it over, and little remorse for the lost ship and crewmen. Both groups start to fight over the ownership of the barrel, and are escorted to the observation lounge under guard. The two pairs come from different planets within the same system. It is explained that the barrel contains Felicium, a medicine for a plague which is ravaging the planet Ornara. Felicium is produced on the planet Brekka, but the Ornarans are the only race in the system with the means of space travel; however, the Ornaran ships were all built long ago and are beginning to fail due to overuse and lack of maintenance - and the Ornarans no longer know how to repair them. Captain Picard offers to return them each to their homeworlds and provide replacement parts for their freighters. The Brekkans, Sobi and Langor, argue that they retain ownership, as the items the Ornarans offered in payment were lost on board the freighter. T'Jon and Romas, of Ornara, are suffering from the effects of the plague, and are sent to sickbay where Dr. Beverly Crusher can find no reason for their symptoms. The Brekkans offer two doses of Felicium for T'Jon and Romas' immediate needs. Langor explains that the entire Brekkan economy and industry is devoted to producing the medicine for Ornara, whose inhabitants provide Brekka with the necessities of daily life in return. After T'Jon and Romas take their doses, Dr. Crusher realises that Felicium is actually a highly addictive narcotic, and the plague itself was cured long ago. Because of the addictive nature of Felicium - and the clear implication that Brekka's economy would collapse if the Ornarans no longer needed Felicium - Brekka continued to supply it to Ornara but did not warn them that the plague was cured. Picard warns that the Federation cannot intervene due to the Prime Directive. He and Dr. Crusher later question the Brekkans alone, and suspect that they know the truth regarding the addictive nature of the medicine. The Enterprise arrives at Ornara, and Sobi and Langor have agreed to provide the Felicium to the Ornarans for later payment. However, Picard announces that as the Prime Directive prevents him from interfering in the deal, it also prevents him from providing replacement parts for the freighters. T'Jon and Romas are furious at the decision as it means that the trade between Ornara and Brekka will stop because the ships can no longer make the journeys without the parts. After the four are transported off the Enterprise, Picard confides to Dr. Crusher that while the Ornarans may suffer from withdrawal symptoms, this will be an opportunity for both races to advance in their own ways. =Errors and Explanations= Internet Movie Database Factual errors # At the end of the episode, when Geordi chooses the bearing, he states "970-mark-318". the first bearing number exceeds the maximum 360 degrees. He probably meant 97 mark 318. Incorrectly regarded as goofs # Worf says that the freighter has entered the "planet's" atmosphere. They are orbiting a star, not a planet. The distress signal was coming from the 4th planet of the star system, not the star itself. Plot holes # The Enterprise was originally sent to this system to study its sun. After the rescue mission they should have gone back to complete their mission yet Picard just decided to leave without considering their next mission. The ship does not belong to its captain and the captain would not be allowed to fly around at random. He would have a list of missions to complete which would have been set up, perhaps years in advance, by Federation Command. It was probably deemed prudent to withdraw the Enterprise, to remove the temptation by either side to further involve the Federation.'http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0708781/goofs?ref_=tttrv_sa_1 Nit Central # ''Keith Alan Morgan on Tuesday, May 11, 1999 - 7:19 am: After the Brekkians and the Ornarans zap each other, Riker says that he has never seen humanoids with that ability, but in The Naked Now he said he studied the logs of all ships named Enterprise. Does this mean that there is no visual record of Apollo, from the Classic episode Who Mourns for Adonais? Apollo was humanoid and he clearly had the ability to zap people with lightning bolts, Dr. McCoy even commented on an organ in his body that might be the source of this power, but Riker wasn't interested enough to look up any visual logs? '''Riker is stating he personally has never seen humanoids with this ability. Besides, there may not be any visual records of Apollo using his zapping ability. # Crusher tells the Security Guard to escort the Brekkians to their quarters, then the Captain walks in, the guard stands to attention, then the woman asks to talk to Picard, and it is only afterwards that the guard starts to escort the Brekkians to their quarters. Having never served in the military, I cannot say if this is proper behavior or not, but it looked unusual. They were about to escort the Brekkians away when Picard entered, prompting the woman to approach him. # Chris Diehl on Tuesday, March 04, 2003 - 1:35 pm: Let me get this straight. Picard was not violating the Prime Directive when he beamed these people off the ship. He was responding to a distress call! Changed Premesis # Picard makes an interesting choice at the beginning of this episode. He takes the Enterprise into a system to perform some simple studies on the dynamics of its star's heavy ﬂare activity. He endangers the ship with all its families for a close sensor path. Wouldn’t a probe suffice? 1) A probe may not be able to withstand the enviromental conditions in the space surrounding the star. 2) The sensor equipment on a probe may not be capable of completing scans to the required standard. =Sources= Category:Episodes Category:The Next Generation